School's reporting on "sexualised chatbots"
Dear eSafety Commissioner,
On the ABC's 7:30 show on the 8th Sept 2025 you mentioned that Australian schools have been reporting that 10- and 11-year-old children are spending up to six hours per day on AI companions, "most of them sexualised chatbots", as quoted here https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-08/c....
Under the provisions outlined in the Freedom of Information Act of 1982 I am requesting the source(s) of this information, be that documents, emails or other.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Walkom
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant
I am writing to acknowledge your request under the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act) received on 9 September 2025.
Unless you request otherwise, we will redact the names and personal
information of public servants on relevance grounds pursuant to section 22
of the FOI Act. We will also proceed on the basis that you do not require
duplicates or drafts of material in scope.
The FOI Act allows 30 days for processing your request. This period may be
extended for charges and third-party consultation. We will let you know if
this occurs.
We will contact you at the email address above unless you advise
otherwise. Any documents released to you as part of this decision will be
published on our disclosure log unless one of the relevant exceptions
apply. Further information about the FOI Act, including eSafety’s
publication obligations, is available on our website at
[1]https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/corp....
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
[2]eSafety logo Email-Signautre
[3]Email-Footers icons3[4]esafety.gov.au
[5]Email-Footers iconsT[6]Email-Footers iconsF[7]Email-Footers iconsL
eSafety acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and
to Elders past, present and emerging.
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Walkom <[FOI #13623 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 9 September 2025 7:55 AM
To: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - School's reporting on
"sexualised chatbots"
[You don't often get email from
[8][FOI #13623 email]. Learn why this is
important at [9]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Dear eSafety Commissioner,
On the ABC's 7:30 show on the 8th Sept 2025 you mentioned that Australian
schools have been reporting that 10- and 11-year-old children are spending
up to six hours per day on AI companions, "most of them sexualised
chatbots", as quoted here
[10]https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-08/c....
Under the provisions outlined in the Freedom of Information Act of 1982 I
am requesting the source(s) of this information, be that documents, emails
or other.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Walkom
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[11][FOI #13623 email]
Is [12][eSafety Commissioner request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to eSafety Commissioner? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[13]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[14]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
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intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy
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References
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8. mailto:[FOI #13623 email]
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10. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-08/c...
11. mailto:[FOI #13623 email]
12. mailto:[eSafety Commissioner request email]
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14. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant
Please find attached correspondence regarding your freedom of information
request to eSafety.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
[1]eSafety logo Email-Signautre
[2]Email-Footers icons3[3]esafety.gov.au
[4]Email-Footers iconsT[5]Email-Footers iconsF[6]Email-Footers iconsL
eSafety acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and
to Elders past, present and emerging.
From: FOI
Sent: Friday, 26 September 2025 10:34 AM
To: Mark Walkom
Subject: FOI 25189 - Acknowledgement of request [SEC=OFFICIAL]
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant
I am writing to acknowledge your request under the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act) received on 9 September 2025.
Unless you request otherwise, we will redact the names and personal
information of public servants on relevance grounds pursuant to section 22
of the FOI Act. We will also proceed on the basis that you do not require
duplicates or drafts of material in scope.
The FOI Act allows 30 days for processing your request. This period may be
extended for charges and third-party consultation. We will let you know if
this occurs.
We will contact you at the email address above unless you advise
otherwise. Any documents released to you as part of this decision will be
published on our disclosure log unless one of the relevant exceptions
apply. Further information about the FOI Act, including eSafety’s
publication obligations, is available on our website at
[7]https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/corp....
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
[8]eSafety logo Email-Signautre
[9]Email-Footers icons3[10]esafety.gov.au
[11]Email-Footers iconsT[12]Email-Footers iconsF[13]Email-Footers iconsL
eSafety acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and
to Elders past, present and emerging.
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Walkom <[14][FOI #13623 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 9 September 2025 7:55 AM
To: FOI <[15][email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - School's reporting on
"sexualised chatbots"
[You don't often get email from
[16][FOI #13623 email]. Learn why this is
important at [17]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Dear eSafety Commissioner,
On the ABC's 7:30 show on the 8th Sept 2025 you mentioned that Australian
schools have been reporting that 10- and 11-year-old children are spending
up to six hours per day on AI companions, "most of them sexualised
chatbots", as quoted here
[18]https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-08/c....
Under the provisions outlined in the Freedom of Information Act of 1982 I
am requesting the source(s) of this information, be that documents, emails
or other.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Walkom
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[19][FOI #13623 email]
Is [20][eSafety Commissioner request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to eSafety Commissioner? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[21]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[22]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended
recipient(s)
and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized
review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the
intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy
all
copies of the original message.
References
Visible links
1. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
3. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
4. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
5. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
6. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
7. https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/corp...
8. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
10. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
11. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
12. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
13. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...
14. mailto:[FOI #13623 email]
15. mailto:[email address]
16. mailto:[FOI #13623 email]
17. https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific...
18. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-08/c...
19. mailto:[FOI #13623 email]
20. mailto:[eSafety Commissioner request email]
21. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
22. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...